Avarice
by Hawkeye116
Summary: Tension is mounting in the Fire Lord's court. The commoners are starving, taxes are high, and the Generals are power hungry. And Princess Zula is getting bolder in her actions by the moment. In 1st person pov.


A/N: Yay! This might turn into a chaptered story a loooong time in the future. But by then, it'll probably be AU. Oh well.

This is in the point of view of Zula. It's actually a decent lengnth one-shot; enjoy.

I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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Avarice

A One-Shot

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He sits on his throne of gold and precious gems, the sunlight glinting off all the beautiful artwork pieces within the room. I can only see him out of the corner of my eye, for my head is to the floor, as I am crouching upon it: bowing to him. To the Fire Lord. To my father. The fool. 

My father is much too greedy and self-centered to be the leader of the strongest Nation in the world. Sure, he isn't weak and dishonorable like my imbecilic brother, but he still cares too much for inanimate objects. It is shameful. He should be setting up strategies for the armies and be directing his troops.

I've been to one of his war councils. He does nothing but sit on his throne and listen while all the Generals and Admirals plot out the next attack on the Earth or Water Nations. He's much too absorbed by himself to realize that those very people are plotting against him. I've heard much; the commoners are tired of the strains of war. Taxes are high, and people are starving. The Generals will do whatever they can to gain more power, even if it means assassinating my father.

They don't care. They don't fear him like they should fear a leader. He will be killed within the month; they have hired a young bounty hunter to do it. She is from the Fire Nation, but that doesn't matter to me.

What matters is that within a month, I will be sitting in that throne, and my father will be dead.

I know that I will be able to lead the country with ease; I am strong, stronger than my father, and I won't be fooled by power-hungry nobles like he has. I will lead the Fire Nation to victory in this war, and I will kill every last Earth Nation man and Water Tribesman. And the women too. None will be left.

What concerns me is after the war. In my later years, will I be as acute as I am now? Will I corrupt myself like my father has done to himself? Will my brother offer resistance to the throne?

Though Zuko is weak and foolish and in exile, he is still a threat. Probably the greatest threat to my throne. It concerns me.

If that bounty hunter does her job right and kills my father, I will pay her millions of gold pieces to get rid of my brother and uncle forever.

Or perhaps I should do it myself?

"Zula," my father's deep voice states. I rise, still pretending to avert my eyes to the floor. He is so cocky, I am almost glad he will be dead.

"My Lord," I respond. "Why have you called for me to humble your presence?"

Hey, it's always good to be in favor of those in control. He's still got a month left in him, after all.

"I have heard murmurings amongst the servants. Strange things, I hear. I sense change. Do you know of anything concerning this, Zula?"

I wish he would address me as Princess or something of the like. I do the honor of calling him "My Lord," and I don't see what the big deal is if he would return the favor. Well, yes I do. I must not call him father. Zuko did that, and it is one mistake that I will not make.

"I have heard of no such thing, Lord," I answer. I keep my face down and away from his own; I know he is trying to see if I am lying or not.

"Zula," he says again.

"What?" I ask, trying to be calm.

"Zula," he says plainly. This is so pointless. Why does he have to keep saying my name over and over? Is he possessed or something?

"Zula, look into my eyes."

Whoa, he's scaring me now. Big time. Major time. He's never asked me to gain the same eye level as him before.

"Zula!" he orders. I shiver slightly, though I hide it, and I look up at him. At his eyes.

I have never seen his eyes properly before; it has not been acceptable. This still isn't acceptable. I should not be doing this.

But I keep staring. His eyes are gold, like my own and my brother's. But they aren't like how I pictured them. They are… It confuses me. I feel helpless and lost. I hate this feeling.

"Zula," he whispers softly. Why is he acting this way? Why are his eyes so odd? What is going _on_?

"Zula," he murmurs again, "my daughter."

What did he just call me? What is this?

He rises from his throne, and walks slowly towards me.

"Zula. My daughter," he repeats to himself, again and again. Is he possessed? Perhaps delirious? Maybe I should fetch a healer for him—or not. He would die of natural causes, and no ill will towards him would be suspected.

"My Lord? What is it?" I question, checking if he is still quite sane or not.

"No. Not Lord. Father. I am your father," he whispers again. Why does he speak so softly? This is all such a waste of time. I could be training or meditating or planning for the war right now instead of this.

I give him an odd look. He is only a foot away from me now.

I watch as he falls to his knees at my feet. His eyes are wide and his face is pale.

"Zula! They plan to kill me! I need your help," he pleads. Wow, I wonder how he found out he's going to be assassinated?

"My Lord, I do not know of what you speak," I say innocently, though I cannot help but smirk just a bit. This is very amusing. The Fire Lord, kneeling at my feet and begging for mercy. So this is what it feels like to be in power. Ah, this is a very great feeling indeed.

"They will kill me! They are upset at my reign and they will kill me. You must promise me—"

"My Lord!" I exclaim. This is all so very, very amusing. "Who?"

He shakes his head, babbling on. "It is not important! Iroh was right! Zuko is right! The war is wrong, my daughter, wrong. When I am gone, be sure to end it. Don't be like me," he begs. His eyes are even wider, and he is staring behind me.

"What?" I ask. He really has gone insane, then. The throne is very much mine.

"End the war. There is no way we can be victorious. Too many will die," he murmurs. He'll probably be foaming at the mouth within a few minutes. I should go fetch a healer to not arouse any suspicions about my loyalties to my father.

I shake my head. "I shall go find a healer, and you will be alright, my Lord. You are obviously not in your right mind now."

His breathing is sharp and quick. His face, a mask of fright and desperation.

"Zula," he says in between his rapid breaths, "too many will die. Don't let it happen! Too many will die."

"My Lord—" I begin. He cuts me off, stuns me.

"Not Lord. Father. Please. I want to be my own daughter's father once, not her country's Fire Lord. Please. Father. I am your father."

He keeps babbling gibberish as such for some time and I stop listening. I notice something move in the shadows along the wall, and turn to where I thought I saw something.

"Who goes there?" I declare loudly.

A sword comes slicing through the air out of the shadows. I easily deflect it with my armor and catch the hilt in my hand.

"Show yourself," I demand.

A woman of about twenty years steps out of the shadows after a few moments of silence. She is adorned in all black; two spiraling tattoos on each of her shoulders mark her as a bounty hunter of the Deathly Serpent's Guild, a group of assassins and bounty hunters within the Fire Nation. She is an elite, from what I can tell by the tattoos.

"Ah, Jun. I'd only heard about you before now."

She is obviously the one the Generals hired to kill my father.

I feel my father tremble behind me. I ignore him, continuing to converse with the bounty hunter before me.

"Why so early?" I question.

"What?" she asks foolishly. She is a bright one, I know, and she is obviously faking.

"The assassination, of course."

"Oh. That," she replies. Maybe she isn't as bright as I've heard she is after all.

"So?"

"They told me to do it when I could. I heard the Fire Lord was alone, so I came to do my duty."

"Ah. Yes. Well, come here," I order. Jun hesitates at first, but she walks over to me.

I glance down at my father; his face is so pale, it is as if he is already dead.

"Z-Zula…" he manages to whisper from his lips. "D-don't… let… happen… Too… many… will… die…"

His words are so split up I can barely understand. He needs to be taken care of. The sooner the better.

I turn to Jun, ignoring my father, and I press the hilt of the sword in her hand.

"Carry on," I order, turning away from the both of them and walking towards the door as if it were some business interaction. That's all it is, after all.

"ZULA!" my father screeches, "DON'T! TOO MANY WILL DIE! TOO MANY—"

A grin creeps onto my face as I hear the strike of a sword and a gurgle of pain.

There is no more foolish, greedy Fire Lord Ozai.

Only a Fire Lady Zula.

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A/N: Mwahaha! Zula's so evil! And yay for Zuko and Iroh coz I feel like it. 


End file.
